1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system and method that provides pattern-based surveillance monitoring. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method that provides pattern-based video and audio surveillance for dependent individuals, such as children and the elderly.
2. Description of the Related Art
The field of surveillance monitoring experienced increased research and development for purposes of military and urban applications. As technology becomes more accessible, surveillance technology is filtering down into the home. For example “nanny cams” are often used to record the activities of a child's caregiver. A challenge of current implementations however, is that traditional home-based surveillance technologies require live monitoring or reviewing lengthy amounts of pre-recoded information. For example, a parent could set a nanny cam to record the nanny's actions throughout the day but would have to review (scan or watch) the entire recording in order to identify any situations where the nanny acted inappropriately. Because of these shortcomings, many parents and guardians are reluctant to use surveillance technology due to these difficulties.
In response to terrorist threats, a vast amount of research has been performed in the area of automating video surveillance monitoring. Much of this research has been commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Advance Research Project Agency, and therefore focuses on military and urban commercial applications. Although better surveillance technology now exists, based on the efforts of the DOD and others, domestic (non-commercial) applications do not take advantage of these technology advances and are continuing to use traditional “nanny cam” home-based surveillance as described above.
One concern with traditional surveillance technology used to monitor children is that there is no way to recognize that a child or other dependent (e.g., elderly person, disabled individual, etc.) is in a dangerous situation until long after the situation has passed, often with disastrous consequences. What is needed, therefore, is a system that analyzes video and audio surveillance data in real time, and provides alerting capability when events occur that put a dependent in danger. Furthermore, what is needed is a system and method that reports on the general level of care provided for the child.